National Republican., 1887-01-31
THE SWINDLE OF THE AGES.
IS THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION A CHEAT?
DIR. TALMAGE'S SERMON.
Showing What Has Been Accomplished
by This Chimera, This Failacy, This
Hoax, This Delusion = Wonderful
Transformations of Human Character.

BRooKLYN Jan. 80-At the Tabernacle this
morning the Rev. T. De Witt Talmage, ID. d..
baptized by immersion number Of persons
who preferred that mode, as. on the Sunday
previous, he had baptized by sprinkling those
who SO desired. Prof. Browne, the organist,
rendered the sonata in minor by Rhein-
berger The opening hymn, sung by the whole
congregation, was that beginning:
20 happy day that fixed my choice
On Thee, my Saviour and my God"
After reading another list of those who dur
ing the week had united with the church Dr.
Talmage discussed the subject: as the Chris.
tian Religion n Cheat2" His text was HE
made his arrows bright, he consulted with
images, he looked in the liver."--Ezekiel 81:
80. The preacher said
Two modes OF divination by which the king
Of Babylon proposed to iind out the VIII Il OF God.
mixed them up, then pulled forth one. and nd
should fret assault. Then an animal was vas slain. slain.
the brighter or darker prospect OF success was
inferred That is the meaning of the text:
HE made bis arrows ar ,b bright ne consulted with
stupid delusion! Ana yet all the ages have
been filled with delusions. 1t seems as II the
world loves 10 be hoodwinked, the deluslon OF
deceits practiced upon the human race. In the
latter part OF the last century, Johanna South
cote came forth pretending to have divine m
her honor, and enc hundred thousand disciples
came forth TO follow her. About five years be-
fore the birth Of Christ, Apollonius Was born,
the sick and raised the dead, and preached
virtue, and, according to the myth, having de-
The Delphic Oracle deceived vast multitudes
OF people; the Pythoness seated in the temple
Of Apollo uttering a crazy jarg9n from which
fortunes or misfortunes. The utterances were
OF such nature that you could read them any
way you wanted to read them. A general go
ing forth TO battle, consulted the Delphic Or
acle. and he wanted TO find out whether he
was going 10 be safe In the battle, or killed in
the battle, and the answer came forth from
put the comma before the. word "never' 1t
the comma afIer the word never il
sage from the Delphic Oracle 10 the general
was: "Go forth, return never In battle shalt
thou perish" Ifhe was killed, that was ac.
home Safely, that was according to the Del:
phic Oracle. SO the ancient augurles deceived
The people The priests, of those, augurles, by
the hight of birds, or by the intonatlon Of
thunder, or by the inside appearance OF slain
animals told the fortunes or misiortunes ofindi.
yiduals or nations. The sibyls deceived the
ae Sy Gho in 70 wSe Se
wrote the Sibylline books atterward purchased
by Tarouin the Proud. so late as the year
1929, a man arose In New York, pretending to
be a divine being, and playing his part so well
that wealthy merchants became his disciples
and threw their fortunes into his discipleship.
And so In all ages, there have been necro-
mancies, incantations, wlthcraits. sorcerles,
magical arts, enchantments. divinations, and
delusions The one of the text was only a
specimen OF that which has been transplring
In all ages OF the world. None of these delu-
sions accomplished any good. They deceived,
they panperized the people, they were as
cruel as they were absurd. They opened M
hospitals, they healed no wounds they wiped
away no tears, they emanclpated no serfdom
But there are those who say that all these de-
lusions combined are as nothing compared
with the ueluslon now abroad In tho world
the delusion OF the Christian religion. That
delusion has to- day 100000, coo dupes II pro-
poses to eneircle tho earth with Its glrdle. That
which has been called a delusion has aireaiy
oyershadowed the Appalachian range on this
side the sea, and 1t has overshadowed the Bal
kan and Caucasian ranges on the other side
the sea- IL has conquered England aud the
United States. This champion delusion, this
hoax. this swindle of the ages, as IL has been
called, has gone forth to conquer the islands OF
the Pacific: the Melanasia and the Micronesia
and Malayan Polynesia have already SUR
rendered to the delusiOn. Yea, II has con-
quered the Indian archipelago; and Borneo
and 6umatra and Celebes aud Java have fallen
under its wiles. In the FIJI Islands where